Doslovný zápis z rozpráv

Pondelok, 7. marca 2016 - Štrasburg

16. Na ceste k prosperujúcemu hospodárstvu založenému na údajoch (rozprava)

  La Présidente. – L'ordre du jour appelle le débat sur:

- la question orale à la Commission sur la communication de la Commission intitulée "Vers une économie de la donnée prospère" (COM(2014)0442) de Jerzy Buzek, au nom de la commission de l'industrie, de la recherche et de l'énergie (O-000021/2016 - B8-0116/2016) (2015/2612(RSP)),

- la question orale à la Commission sur "Vers une économie de la donnée prospère" de Vicky Ford, au nom de la commission du marché intérieur et de la protection des consommateurs (O-000040/2016 – B8-0351/2016) (2015/2612(RSP)).

  Jerzy Buzek, author.– Madam President, big data certainly has enormous potential to push Europe’s economy forward. Europe needs to be ambitious, to lead, on big data but Europe should also lead in protecting our values.

First of all, privacy and data protection. In order to lead on big data Europe needs to set an innovation friendly regulatory framework that ensures, first of all, both data security and privacy. Secondly, to encourage private investment in both infrastructure and research and development. Point number 3: creation of a true digital union with all the standards: intellectual property rights and open public data. Point number 4: foster start-ups and SMEs in the data driven economy. And point number 5: involve society so that it can benefit from big data and be empowered by it.

We call on the Commission and the Council to make all the necessary efforts so Europe could become a global leader on big data.

I would like to thank our colleague, Barbara Kappel, for her crucial involvement in the preparation at committee level for this oral question and the motion for a resolution. And let me say, I did not mention a very important point, of course, which is consumer protection and consumer rights, but this is the responsibility of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) and certainly Madam Chair, Vicky Ford, will speak about that.

IN THE CHAIR: ADINA-IOANA VĂLEAN
Vice-President

  Vicky Ford, author.– Madam President, the digital world is a borderless world and to solve questions it raises means that we need to work with others, both across Europe and across the rest of the world too. Big data helps businesses to manage logistics, to target sales, to reduce costs and thus to increase their competitiveness. This is key to driving our economic growth.

But the regulatory environment must work for both businesses and consumers. Good regulation can bring benefits. Clear rules on how personal data is used can empower consumers. Clear competition rules can give businesses, large and small, a level playing field and helps to bring confidence to investors and innovators.

In the digital space new entrants emerge rapidly and new sectors like data brokers, raise new questions on transparency and accountability. So what is the Commission doing to monitor these new entrants, and how do we make sure that any rules we pass are technologically neutral, future proof and do not just lock in old monopolies?

Big data also brings big benefits for health with next-generation medicines, for the environment by saving energy and reducing waste, and can help make our public services more efficient.

But to achieve all of this we need smart procurement to unlock smart technology. So what is the Commission doing to help our Member States and their public services to share best practice and to enable savvy – tech-savvy – procurement?

My committee first tabled these questions last summer. We are only debating them in March. This is not good enough. In the months in between Parliament negotiators have agreed new rules on data protection, but outside our Brussels bubble there is still a lot of concern about the details. If the data protection authorities are overly cautious when they implement the regulation they will put a straitjacket on the data processing. But to unlock the benefits of big data, data needs to be processed.

So, Commissioner, we need clear guidelines, they need to work for businesses and for consumers, for innovators and incumbents, for scientists and service providers. Just agreeing the regulation is one step. Now we need to work on the implementation and clear guidelines too.

  Andrus Ansip, Vice-President of the Commission.– Madam President, thank you for the questions we will debate today. They show that it is time to put the right conditions in place for Europe to leverage the growth potential of the data-driven economy.

The EU data economy is growing fast and is expected to reach at least 3% of GDP by 2020. It must become the building block for our entire economy, creating new jobs, services and business models. In the recent public consultation on platforms, the Commission aimed to improve understanding of the role of data markets, access to data and the free flow of data in the European Union. The Commission will map existing restrictions on the free flow of data and assess emerging issues related to businesses’ access to data, the use and reuse of data, and the ownership of non-personal data.

Data is the new oil. Standards and interoperability are its new pipelines. The Commission is working on a set of priorities for standards and standardisation actions in key technology areas for the digital single market, which can guide the standardisation of organisations in their work.

Regarding cloud, the Commission will promote the rapid adoption of cloud computing in all sectors where we are convinced that cloud can boost productivity. In order to digitise public administrations, the digital single market envisages a new e-government action plan. Under the action plan, I aim at accelerating the implementation of open, innovative and collaborative government. They will support interoperability and cross-border digital public services.

An effective regulatory framework on personal data protection, complemented by revised e-privacy rules plus cyber security and consumer protection, will help to build trust in the data economy. By enhancing legal certainty and providing more uniform rules, it will also help to guarantee equal conditions for businesses to compete across the European Union.

The specific situation of SMEs has been taken into account in the proposals for the general data protection regulation. The Commission has been careful not to impose undue administrative burdens on them. SMEs will benefit from the simplified regulatory environment that the regulation provides and the one-stop shop mechanism of the national supervisory authorities.

But this is not only about data. The right skills are needed to process data properly and to create new businesses. The Commission has included a New Skills Agenda for Europe in its 2016 work programme to promote skills development and maximise the potential of digital jobs.

One question raised the issue of data brokerage. The Commission is following closely the emergence of data markets and brokerage in Europe. To assess the need for policy action, we first need a better understanding of the mechanisms for finding the right price and composition of data to be traded, as well as their effects on the data economy. Particular attention will be given to transparency, accountability and non-discrimination.

  Michał Boni, on behalf of the PPE Group.– Madam President, what is the objective? A data-driven economy can give us more efficient products, user-friendly services and personalised solutions. We can say: data-driven governance, science, thanks to analytical algorithms, data-driven cities known as smart cities, medicine which can change the model of healthcare from reactive to preventive, and a data-driven industry with communication between things, robots and people and, as a result, an internet of everything for everybody. It is also the best leverage for making SMEs more competitive and cost-efficient, scaling up their businesses.

What do we need? A better framework, both regulatory and non-regulatory. The new technologies require much more soft law. This should be with respect to privacy and security, but also flexible for new opportunities for data processing concerned with solving the problem or the ownership of data. Open data as a basis, accessibility of many kinds of data and the possibility to use them for public and commercial purposes; efficient infrastructure; future 5G for digital industrialisation, a network of high-performance computing centres and cloud development; a well-educated workforce, new e-skills development in the whole system; coverage of standardised and interoperable solutions all over Europe.

All of these create the opportunity for the new European competitive advantages. We have no time to lose, so we await consistent proposals from the Commission.

  Patrizia Toia, a nome del gruppo S&D.– Signora Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, l'obiettivo di far tornare a crescere l'economia europea, di farla diventare più florida, più competitiva, può trovare nell'economia basata sui dati una grande opportunità. Ma ciò – lo sappiamo benissimo – non accadrà automaticamente e spontaneamente. Dovrà essere frutto di una strategia europea. Non accadrà per miracolo se le cose saranno lasciate andare spontaneamente. Abbiamo molta strada da recuperare, perché sappiamo che gli Stati Uniti sono molto avanti, sappiamo che l'Europa non è big in questa economia dei big data; forse lo potrà diventare ma occorre fare molto.

Occorre fare molto dal punto di vista degli investimenti, come è stato detto, dal punto di vista dell'interoperabilità, perché macchine e sensori e tutte gli accessori tecnici possano colloquiare tra loro, coinvolgimento delle PMI, della società per i suoi utilizzi, preparazione delle competenze, molto integrate, diversificate che occorrono, tutte cose da fare.

Ma per fare questo occorre anche una lungimiranza. È stato detto dal presidente Buzek che l'Europa deve guardare avanti, essere innovativa ma difende i suoi valori, affermarli. Dunque, occorre un quadro normativo che sia rivolto al futuro, capace di incentivare l'innovazione ma che affronti i problemi e i rischi che comporta questa economia basata sul valore delle informazioni, per i mille trattamenti che se ne possono fare, non solo per quanto riguarda la privacy, che pure è molto importante, o la protezione dei dati ma anche la proprietà.

Ci sono rilevanti aspetti giuridici e anche, oserei dire, etici, legati anche agli sviluppi della democrazia. Abbiamo sentito cose molto preoccupanti sulla possibile combinazione dei dati e il loro utilizzo se non vi sono regole chiare che non vogliono limitare il progresso e l'innovazione, ma vogliono salvaguardare, nel progresso e l'innovazione, i valori dell'Europa.

  Evžen Tošenovský, za skupinu ECR.– Vážená paní předsedající, v současné době je pro naši ekonomiku a celou společnost nezbytné bezchybné fungování informačních systémů. Množství dat zpracovaných v reálném čase narůstá a stejně tak se zvyšuje potřeba technické infrastruktury pro jejich přenos s nejvyššími požadavky na jejich bezpečnost. Zvýšení kapacity a přenosových rychlostí se stává podmínkou dalšího rozvoje.

Nesmíme však zapomínat na systémové zázemí, bez kterého by nebylo možné zvládnutí velkých objemů dat v únosném čase. To se týká cloud computingu, ale i dynamicky narůstajících požadavků na superpočítačové systémy. Ty jsou schopné ohromného počtu výpočetních operací na velkých objemech dat. Potřebujeme nové přístupy, ať jde o paralelní počítání, nebo nové matematické metody. Tato infrastruktura pro zpracování dat je ale velmi finančně náročná, a měli bychom proto úzce spolupracovat a efektivně využívat unijní programy a fondy.

  Kaja Kallas, on behalf of the ALDE Group.– Madam President, in the time it took to bring this resolution to plenary we also adopted the digital single market report, where we were quite clear what we want to see regarding big data.

Firstly, Parliament quite clearly asked for the business environment for growth and innovation in the data-driven economy to be improved, and secondly, we also called on the Commission in the digital single market report to carry out a broad and transparent review of big data. So the aim is not to have another study but to review what needs to be done in order to improve the conditions for growth and innovation, and to understand and address the potential challenges so that we can encourage take up, because what is crucial is to create scale in Europe as this is the only way to benefit from big data the most.

There are two issues regarding big data. One is data protection, and the other is skills, so firstly, data protection. I hope that now that the data protection framework is soon to be adopted the Commission will come forward with the free flow of data initiative because restrictions on the flow of data go against the single market, but also the purpose of data- driven technologies. And second, I think it is important that we do not talk about personal data because big data is not about personalised data, but data in a big format that makes companies able to draw conclusions from it. As the Vice—President pointed out, it is about open public data and also machine-generated data.

Secondly I wanted to talk about skills. If big data is there but there is nobody to use it because nobody knows how, and no businesses know how to apply these things, then there is just no use. We therefore await the key recommendations in the e-skills strategy.

(The speaker agreed to take a blue-card question under Rule 162(8))

  Maria Grapini (S&D), întrebare adresată conform procedurii „cartonașului albastru”. –Stimată colegă, în discursul dumneavoastră ați pus mai multe întrebări, însă vreau să mai adaug una. Domnul comisar ne vorbea de importanța IMM-urilor și eu aș vrea să vă întreb: credeți că reglementările legate de big data, de Small Business Act, țin cont de nevoia de a gândi mai întâi la scară mică și nu de a face reglementări „la grămadă” și, din nou, IMM-urile să suporte consecințele unei reglementări nespecifice lor?

  Kaja Kallas (ALDE), blue-card answer.– As the European economy is based on small and medium—sized enterprises, it is very important to take this into account. Also, when we try to discuss the regulations and only keep in mind the big companies, we actually design regulations that are fit for them and not fit for the small ones. So I think we have to keep this in mind all the time, and I hope that the Commission will do that.

  Νεοκλής Συλικιώτης, εξ ονόματος της ομάδας GUE/NGL.– Κυρία Πρόεδρε, η αξιοποίηση των νέων ψηφιακών δεδομένων πρέπει να έχει πρωταρχικό στόχο την ευημερία και την ενίσχυση της ποιότητας ζωής των ανθρώπων. Δυστυχώς σήμερα οι δυνατότητες της τεχνολογίας επιστρατεύονται για την εξυπηρέτηση των συμφερόντων των πολυεθνικών και του μεγάλου κεφαλαίου, για αύξηση της ανταγωνιστικότητας και των επιχειρηματικών κερδών. Γι’ αυτό απαιτείται να επαναπροσδιοριστούν οι στόχοι και στο επίκεντρο να τεθούν οι ανάγκες και τα συμφέροντα της κοινωνίας. Η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση πρέπει να στηρίξει τα κράτη μέλη, ώστε να προωθήσουν κρατικές επιδοτήσεις και δημόσιες επενδύσεις για πλήρη αξιοποίηση των νέων ψηφιακών δεδομένων. Στόχος πρέπει να είναι η προώθηση της έρευνας, της καινοτομίας και της ανάπτυξης, η δημιουργία νέων ποιοτικών θέσεων εργασίας, η διασφάλιση της ελεύθερης και δωρεάν πρόσβασης στο Διαδίκτυο, η προστασία των προσωπικών δεδομένων καθώς και η ενίσχυση των δικαιωμάτων των καταναλωτών. Εξίσου σημαντικό είναι να στηριχτούν οι μικρομεσαίες επιχειρήσεις, ώστε να μπορέσουν να αξιοποιήσουν την τεχνολογία για ενίσχυση της θέσης τους στην αγορά και διευκόλυνση της πρόσβασής τους στη χρηματοδότηση.

  Roger Helmer, on behalf of the EFDD Group.– Madam President, I have served in this Parliament for 17 years. I was here during the Lisbon Council of March 2000 and I well remember the target we set ourselves: to create the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010. Yet, retrospective studies of the first decade of this century show that in fact the EU’s relative competitiveness slipped back during that period. But here we go again, undaunted. This time we seem to have created a sentence without a verb: ‘towards a thriving data-driven economy’. At least there is no target date, so we shall not quite know when we have failed. Can we at least learn the lessons of past failure? We do not achieve competitiveness with fine words in carefully crafted regulations: we achieve it by creating incentives and removing obstacles. We achieve it by setting free the entrepreneurial spirit of business and industry. I call on the Commission to keep this in mind and to pursue its laudable objective, not by detailed and prescriptive legislation, but by flinging wide the gates of opportunity.

  Barbara Kappel, im Namen der ENF-Fraktion.– Frau Präsidentin, Herr Kommissar! Unser Alltag wird digital: Keine Dienstleistung und kein Prozess bleiben analog, kein Unternehmen, kein Konsument bleibt vom digitalen Wandel unberührt.

Das betrifft auch den Markt für Massendaten, also big data. Big data verzeichnet ein jährliches Wachstum von rund 40 % oder 15,4 Mrd. EUR und wächst sieben Mal schneller als der Markt für IKT. Big data, Cloud- Dienste und das Internet der Dinge sind wesentliche Treiber für die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit Europas – ein Wettbewerb, bei dem die USA heute noch klar die Nase vorn hat, mit viel mehr industrieller Kapazität und besseren Finanzierungsmöglichkeiten.

Die Anwendungsmöglichkeiten von big data sind dabei vielfältig. Ob dies die neue IBM-Software ist, die auf Basis von Big data-Analysen echte Flüchtlinge von Terroristen unterscheiden kann, Terrorzellen aufdecken und drohende Attacken abwehren kann, oder selbstfahrende Autos oder die Optimierung des Weinbaus durch IOT-gestützte Echtzeitinformation über Boden- und Klimaverhältnisse, oder Präzisionslandwirtschaft, wo Erntemaschinen den Ertrag punktgenau mit Hilfe präziser GPS-Positionierung registrieren, bodenbasierte Sensoren Nährstoff- und Wassergehalt messen und Satelliten zunehmend genaue Daten zur Pflanzen- und Bodenbeschaffenheit zur Verfügung stellen, oder auch nur Industrie 4.0.

Big data birgt enormes Potenzial für die Telekom- und die Automobilindustrie, für Klimapolitik und Ressourceneffizienz, für die Gesundheit, Energie und intelligente Verkehrssysteme und vieles mehr. Inwieweit das Potenzial von big data gehoben wird, hängt ab von den Investitionen in die digitale Infrastruktur sowie in Forschung und Entwicklung. Die Entwicklung digitaler skills und zuverlässige Regulierungsrahmen, insbesondere in Bezug auf Datenschutz und Datensicherheit – big data schafft Wachstum und Beschäftigung in Europa, 3 % des Bruttoinlandsprodukts bis 2020. Nutzen wir diese Chance!

  Janusz Korwin-Mikke (NI). – Pani Przewodnicząca! Ja tutaj czytam, że grozi nam, że zostaniemy w tyle, że nas ludzie przeganiają... Rozumiem, że przeganiają nas Stany Zjednoczone. To ja bym się spytał, czy w Stanach Zjednoczonych ktoś robi debaty w parlamencie, czy po prostu pozwala się tysiącom, setkom tysięcy prywatnych firm konstruować zbiory danych i tylko się pilnuje, żeby to wszystko odbywało się w miarę przyzwoicie. Złudzenie, że to my mamy konstruować budowę zbiorów danych a nie prywatne firmy jest absolutnie złudzeniem. Nigdy jeszcze nic wielkiego nie zrobiło państwo. Wszystkie wynalazki pochodzą od firm prywatnych. A chciałbym jeszcze Państwa uprzedzić, że prawdziwe dane nie pochodzą ze zbiorów danych. Do zbiorów danych każdy ma dostęp. Chodzi o to, że prawdziwe dane zbiera się z informacji prywatnych, z oglądania telewizji, z czytania danych. Nie zdajemy sobie sprawy, jak ważne są informacje spoza zbiorów danych. Zamykamy się po prostu w wieży z kości słoniowej. Zgadzam się z opinią, że to jest robione głównie w interesie wielkich firm. A poza tym sądzę, że Unia Europejska musi być zniszczona.

  Marc Tarabella (S&D). – Madame la Présidente, Monsieur le Commissaire, le marché des big data représente aussi bien une opportunité en matière de croissance qu'un réel danger pour les consommateurs.

Mon avis sur ce dossier s'est focalisé sur trois aspects principaux qu'il est, à mon sens, essentiel de prendre en compte dans cette balance d'intérêts.

Tout d'abord, il est primordial que toutes les entreprises, de la petite et moyenne entreprise à la multinationale, aient la même chance de profiter de l'explosion du secteur des données de masse. Il faut donc créer un terrain de jeu équitable afin d'éviter les cas de monopole, qui sont trop fréquents dans le secteur informatique.

Ensuite, l'utilisation des big data dans la sphère publique est de nature à faciliter et à accélérer le processus administratif. Saisissons donc cette opportunité afin d'innover et de rendre plus efficaces nos services administratifs publics.

Enfin, dernier point et non des moindres, le marché des big data représente un enjeu de taille pour la protection des consommateurs. Il est donc impératif de mettre en place un cadre législatif afin d'éviter les risques de comportement frauduleux et l'utilisation des données des citoyens à des fins dommageables.

  Jean-Luc Schaffhauser (ENF). – Madame la Présidente, chers collègues, nous sommes habitués aux méthodes de la Commission. Il y a toujours un gain. On nous fait rêver: grâce à la mise en commun, vous allez gagner en productivité, en croissance et en emplois.

Mais cette mise en commun se fait-elle au nom et dans le cadre d'une stratégie européenne? Y a-t-il une volonté de construire des plateformes autonomes, capables de rivaliser avec Google, Facebook, Amazon et Skype? Y a-t-il une politique industrielle afin de créer une capacité de stockage de données suffisante? Non. La stratégie européenne, c'est l'ouverture aux technologies de domination américaine et aux grandes sociétés privées, qui tiennent un monopole dans ces données.

Je souhaiterais soulever un problème de fond. Les données privées sont vendues. La matière première, c'est l'homme. Ne faudrait-il pas interdire la vente de ces données? Au lieu d'en faire une propriété privée ou de l'État, ne conviendrait-il pas d'en faire véritablement une propriété collective appartenant aux citoyens? C'est là l'enjeu de la liberté.

  Gunnar Hökmark (PPE). – Madam President, I think it is important to underline one thing and that is that the data-driven economy is nothing new. That change has already taken place, and in those parts of our economies that are the most data-driven we see most of the growth and development of prosperity. That is how things are, so let us not talk about this as something new and magic.

It is rather about ensuring that we can be the best at processing data, because data is knowledge. Knowledge can be distributed, allocated and used in a way that we have never seen before in the modern economy. For us this is much more about catching up regarding cyber—security and securing the free flow of information, combined with the rules on privacy, consumer legislation and copyright; adapting our society to be a strong society benefiting from these opportunities that are already there.

I think it is quite easy in one way and that is that, if we want to, we can decide that we should be the best. Of course, earlier speakers, Mr Schaffhauser and others, think we are living in the 19th century. We are not. We can decide to take the lead, have the best 5G, the best fibre, open up the best capacities and enable our society to be the best. That is a decision we can take and I think we should take that decision.

(The speaker agreed to take a blue-card question under Rule 162(8))

  István Ujhelyi (S&D), Kékkártyás kérdés.– Figyelem a kezdetektől a vitát és egyetértek azokkal a célokkal, amelyeket Önök megfogalmaztak. Fontos az európai ipar, gazdaság számára, de fontos az európai polgár számára is a kérdés az adatvédelem szempontjából. Egy dolog nem hangzott el ebben a teremben, hogy az adatokat nem csak nagy cégektől kell védenünk, hanem bizony olyan hatalmaktól is, akik egyébként Európa gyengítésében érdekeltek. Lát-e Ön abban veszélyt, hogy mondjuk például Moszkvában, ahol sokszor mintha itt a menekültkrízis kapcsán is mozgatnának szálakat, hogy ilyen hatalmak is esetleg veszélyt jelenthetnek a mi adatainkra? Ez ellen tudunk-e közösen fellépni? Ön mondta azt: a tudás hatalmat jelent, az adat tudást jelenthet – ez az Ön mondata, és ezért ragadtam meg a kérdést, vajon más is használhatja-e a mi adatainkat?

  Gunnar Hökmark (PPE), blue-card answer.– I appreciate that question very much because it gives me the opportunity to underline another thing. Data is not a magic digital issue. It is knowledge, and knowledge has the character that it can be distributed very rapidly and it can be divided very many times. I can give you knowledge and you can give me knowledge and we will still have the same knowledge with us. That is the magic of knowledge, it is not about data.

My feeling and understanding is that most of the data is, for example, the internet of things and the internet of everything – that is not personal data. But in the data-driven economy we can safeguard the personal data that we want to safeguard at the same time as we can increase the levels of cyber security, and still on the aggregated level use the data for the development of health, research, science. A lot of people over there and maybe over there do not want that, but I think we can reach a common understanding on how to use data, the knowledge, safeguarding privacy but also safeguarding European leadership.

  Miapetra Kumpula-Natri (S&D). – Arvoisa puhemies, juuri nyt EU:lla ei ole kovin paljon annettavana digitalouteen. Miettikää kotejanne ja toimistojanne: onko taskussanne ja käsilaukussanne eurooppalaisia laitteita tai käytättekö eurooppalaisia ohjelmia?

Euroopan on ryhdistäydyttävä, sillä muuten ostamme Aasiasta laitteita ja Yhdysvalloista sisältöjä ja emme tuota itse mitään.

Jotain onneksi osaamme. Esimerkiksi infrastruktuuripuolen rakentamisessa tietoverkkoyrityksemme ovat maailman parhaita ja pelifirmat ja tietoturvafirmat valloittavat maailmaa. Mutta syntyykö meille massadatasta uutta työtä?

EU:ta tarvitaan luomaan digitaaliset sisämarkkinat. Tarvitsemme nopeasti standardit ja yhtenäisemmän kuluttajansuoja- ja tietosuojalainsäädännön. Ne auttavat eritoten pieniä yrityksiä ja start upeja sekä tietysti ihmisiä.

Voimme auttaa eurooppalaisia yrityksiä investoimalla laajakaistaverkkoon, innovaatiopolitiikkaan, työvoiman kouluttamiseen ja datakeskuksiin. EU voi myös olla paras avoimen datan hyödyntäjä ja hyvästä tietoturvasta voi tehdä eurooppalaisen brändin. Datan omistaminen ja arvottaminen voi vielä olla epäselvää. Me voimme tehdä EU:sta fiksun ja vikkelän pelaajan digitaalisilla maailmanmarkkinoilla ja voimme luoda Eurooppaan miljoonia työpaikkoja, mutta meidän on toimittava nyt.

  Paul Rübig (PPE). – Frau Präsidentin! Ich glaube, wir leben in einer faszinierenden Zeit. Wir wechseln von der realen Welt in die virtuelle Welt. Die reale Welt spiegelt sich in der virtuellen Welt, und es ist eine große Herausforderung, die Algorithmen und die mathematische Grundlage zu finden, damit wir uns in dieser neuen Welt zurechtfinden. Deswegen, glaube ich, ist es notwendig, dass wir auch eine neue Plattform für Mathematik, Informatik und Algorithmen – best enabling technology – in unserem Rahmenforschungsprogramm schaffen, um hier leading edge der Welt zu bleiben.

Ich glaube, dass es klar ist, dass wir derzeit ungefähr 200 Mrd. E-Mails pro Tag haben. Da wird ein Wissen generiert, das es in dieser Zeit noch nie gegeben hat. Wir haben 800 Mio. Tweets, wir haben über 1 Mrd. Facebook-Einträge, wir haben 30 Mrd. WhatsApp- Nachrichten und wir haben 2,6 Mrd. Mobiltelefone. Die Bits, die wir derzeit produzieren, sind mehr als Sandkörner auf dieser Erde.

Das ergibt natürlich enorme Chancen. Wir sehen, dass sich die Datenmenge in den letzten Jahren jährlich verdoppelt hat. Klar ist: Das Datenvolumen, die Datenanalytik, das Herausfinden, was hinter diesen Daten steckt – das ist das neue Gold, und das sichert die neuen Arbeitsplätze in der Zukunft. Deshalb gratuliere ich Kommissar Ansip zu dieser Strategie. Hier müssen wir schneller, besser und – wie er uns gesagt hat – auch effizienter werden.

  Marju Lauristin (S&D). – Austatud eesistuja! Kasutan võimalust rääkida eesti keeles, kuna saalis on erakordselt suur protsent eesti keele oskajaid. Ma tahaksin tänada komisjoni, kes on andnud väga hea statistilise ülevaate sellest, kuidas edeneb andmemajanduse areng. On loodud spetsiaalne digitaalse majanduse ja ühiskonna indeks, mis minu meelest on väga kõnekas. See on tore, aga pilt, mis sellest avaneb, ei ole tore, sest see näitab Euroopas äärmiselt suurt ebavõrdsust eri maade vahel.

Kui võrdleme ühelt poolt Põhja-Euroopa riike ja teiselt poolt näiteks Itaaliat, Kreekat, Bulgaariat jt, siis praktilise andme- ja arvutikasutusoskuse erinevused on mäekõrgused. Minu küsimus tuleneb sellest, et haridus, st kõigi vajalike oskuste kujundamine on tegelikult liikmesriikide korraldada. Riigid, kus see areng on praegu madalam, ei oska ilmselt ka ette näha, mida teha, et areng kiirem oleks. Kui see nii jääb, siis tegelikult neid sihte, mis on seatud, me üle Euroopa ei saavuta.

Seepärast on mul küsimus, kuidas kavatseb komisjon ületada selle lõhe ning saavutada nende oskuste ja teadmiste ühtlustamine, mis võimaldab andmemajandusel olla üle Euroopa edu pandiks.

  Csaba Sógor (PPE). – Madam President, digital data collection and processing of human activities, industrial processes, research and various other areas keep growing on an unprecedented scale. Big data size has developed from a few dozen terabytes in 2012 to many petabytes of data today. As the Commission has pointed out in its communication, this development could have a very strong impact on a large number of fields ranging from health and food security to resource efficiency, energy, intelligent transport systems and so on, but it also represents an enormous economic potential for companies, the creation of new jobs and the development of new business models.

The fields of big data offer the possibility for Europe to gain a foothold in an advanced ICT sector with strong growth. This is why the European Union must step into the existing possibilities as quickly as possible and close the gap compared to the US. In this sense, in order to create the necessary conditions for the thriving single market in big data it is essential to improve coordination in matters of interoperability and standards and to boost investment in the ICT sector in areas such as the internet of things, high-speed broadband networks, research and education.

(The speaker agreed to take a blue-card question under Rule 162(8))

  Paul Rübig (PPE), Frage nach dem Verfahren der „blauen Karte“.– Ich wollte mich bedanken, weil ich glaube, dass es das sehr gut auf den Punkt bringt. Glauben Sie, dass wir mit neuen Suchmaschinen auch Möglichkeiten für die Bürger und für die Privatsphäre eröffnen könnten, zu verfolgen, wo ihre Daten dann letztlich landen und welchen Nutzen ihre Daten dementsprechend bringen? Vor allem für kleine und mittlere Betriebe, für Familienbetriebe, ist es eine große Herausforderung, hier mitzuhalten.

  Csaba Sógor (PPE), Antwort auf eine Frage nach dem Verfahren der „blauen Karte“.– Ja, selbstverständlich. Die Kleinen haben immer einen Nachteil im Kampf mit den Großen. Das ist das einzige Problem.

Catch-the-eye procedure

  Julia Reda (Verts/ALE). – Madam President, big data can have a great, positive impact on society when carried out responsibly and with full respect for data protection. I think this ethical dimension becomes very clear when I hear some of the very worrying ideas from some of my colleagues about screening refugees. To make sure that all the people can benefit from this trend – an internet of everything for everybody, as my colleague, Mr Boni, put it – Europe needs an open and accessible research data infrastructure and a legal, level playing field.

I was therefore quite surprised to read in the Commission’s communication on copyright that it plans to legalise tax and data mining of copyright-protected material only for so-called ‘public interest research organisations’. How does the Commission expect to unleash the full potential of big data if innovative companies, citizens and science projects continue to be faced with legal uncertainty from an outdated copyright law? Is it not contradictory that, on the one hand, the Commission is suggesting that public-private partnerships are the way forward for big data when, at the same time, compliance with copyright rules is made impossible for big data projects with private sector involvement? Many of these projects require the mining of publicly accessible content held by thousands, or even millions, of different copyright holders. Only by drastically simplifying the rules for all big data projects, regardless of whether they are commercial or non-commercial, can we unleash the full potential and make sure that copyright does not become an obstacle for Europe’s big data ambitions.

  Stanislav Polčák (PPE). – Paní předsedající, byla zde zmíněna celá řada aspektů datové ekonomiky. Ať je to ochrana osobních údajů versus byznys s daty, s údaji. Nebo ať je to bezpečnost a ochrana vlastnictví a proti tomu požadavek na flexibilitu.

Nicméně já bych si dovolil zmínit ještě jednu otázku, která zde nepadla. To je otázka ochrany autorských práv versus požadavek na rychlé získávání souhlasu. Nepochybné je, že ochrana autorských práv musí být zabezpečena. Já se k tomuto požadavku hlásím.

Problém je však rychlost souhlasu, která souvisí právě i s tím, jakým způsobem budou data posouvána v ekonomice. Jak rychle můžete získat souhlasy oprávněných nositelů práv. A zde si myslím, že je ještě velký nedostatek právě na úrovni EU. Nefunguje zde vnitřní trh a kolektivní správci jsou svázáni národními legislativami a i v tomto ohledu by Evropská unie měla tedy rozhodně přidat.

  Nicola Caputo (S&D). – Signora Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, sono stato autore di numerose interrogazioni, interventi e dichiarazioni sullo sviluppo di Internet e sul potenziamento dei big data, per modernizzare economia e sanità pubblica. Ho evidenziato, tuttavia, anche il risvolto della medaglia: la nocività delle radiazioni wifi, la cybercriminalità, il traffico di farmaci, le frodi informatiche.

Considero Internet la vera sfida dei servizi universali per garantire servizi di pubblica utilità e penso per esempio all'e-Health. Ma tale potenza va tuttavia ben calibrata. È necessaria maggiore protezione dei dati personali, maggiore rispetto della Carta dei diritti fondamentali, perché solo regole definite generano positivo impatto sociale e culturale e creano un mercato unico digitale con pari condizioni per le imprese e sicurezza dei cittadini.

Mi associo quindi alla interrogazione e aggiungo che tre giorni fa l'Alto Commissario delle Nazioni Unite per i diritti umani, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, ha esortato gli Stati Uniti a procedere con grande cautela sulla vicenda Apple-FBI, date le sue conseguenze potenzialmente negative per i diritti umani di persone in tutto il mondo. Quale risposta pensa di poter dare la Commissione su questo tema?

  Νότης Μαριάς ( ECR).– Κυρία Πρόεδρε, έχουμε επισημάνει πολλάκις ότι τα κονδύλια που έχουν επενδυθεί στον τομέα των νέων τεχνολογιών της πληροφορίας στην Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση υπολείπονται των επενδύσεων που έγιναν στις Ηνωμένες Πολιτείες και στην Ιαπωνία. Ωστόσο η κάλυψη της απόστασης δεν πρέπει να στηρίζεται στην κινεζοποίηση των μισθών και των συνθηκών εργασίας. Σίγουρα η ευρωπαϊκή νομοθεσία οφείλει να προσαρμοστεί στη διασυνοριακή αρχιτεκτονική του Διαδικτύου, ώστε να γεφυρώσει τις διαφορές της κατακερματισμένης ευρωπαϊκής αγοράς. Οφείλει όμως να προστατεύσει και τους πολίτες των κρατών μελών, γι’ αυτό θα πρέπει να σταματήσει η περαιτέρω απελευθέρωση της αγοράς, ιδίως στον τομέα των υπηρεσιών που επιχειρείται κάτι τέτοιο με την TISA. Με άλλα λόγια η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση πρέπει εκτός των άλλων να αναγνωρίσει και να προτείνει ένα σαφές πλαίσιο αντιμετώπισης των κινδύνων που σχετίζονται με την ψηφιοποίηση της οικονομίας για τους εργαζομένους, τόσο όσον αφορά τις θέσεις εργασίας όσο και την ψυχική και σωματική τους υγεία, μεριμνώντας για την προσβασιμότητα των πολιτών στο Διαδίκτυο, θέματα που δεν θίγονται στην προφορική ερώτηση.

(End of catch-the-eye procedure)

  Andrus Ansip, Vice-President of the Commission.– Madam President, I would like to thank everyone again for their questions and comments. The Commission is committed to maximising the growth potential of the data—driven economy with its digital single market strategy and other initiatives planned for this year. I agree with Vicki Ford, who underlined the importance of really transparent e-procurement.

According to analyses prepared by the European Parliament, if we are able to implement e-procurement across Europe we could save EUR 50 billion per year, which is a huge amount of money – and, I am sorry to say, we do not have this money. We have to implement and introduce e-invoices in all the Member States. We have to use digital signatures more proactively. Of course, we have to pay attention to privacy issues. We have to protect everybody’s privacy, but we have to allow free data flows across Europe. Governments have to open their data in all the Member States. All of the companies, all the players, have to get access to data – it does not matter whether they are small and medium-sized companies or bigger players.

The digital divide is a real issue in the European Union. This divide is not only between our Member States, but also within Member States, even in those Member States where IT is highly developed. We can see that there is a real digital divide between downtown and rural areas, between men and women, and between young and elderly people, and we have to deal with all those issues. You gave me just a minute, and I have already been speaking for two and a half minutes – I am so sorry, we don’t have time. The Commission will propose all those legislative proposals during this year. We have to hurry up, because while yes, of course we have some risks, the real risk is to lose this competition.

I would like to thank Members for today’s debate. I look forward to working swiftly and efficiently with the co-legislators to design and build the necessary conditions for a data-driven economy that benefits everyone in society – individual people, public bodies and the private sector.

  President. – I have received one motion for a resolution tabled in accordance with Rule 128(1) of the Rules of Procedure.

The debate is closed.

The vote will take place on Thursday, 10 March 2016.

Written statements (Rule 162)

  Victor Negrescu (S&D), in writing.– Data are essential in the current economy. ‘Data’ means knowledge, innovation and tools that can help stimulate entrepreneurship, help with administration or improve our education systems. Unfortunately, Europe is not in the forefront of the data-driven economy, even though it has a huge potential. In order to take advantage of this opportunity we need to be clear on the rules applying at European level, create the instruments to stimulate data-driven entrepreneurship and support the creation of a Europe-wide data economy infrastructure. Last but not least, we need to create a pan-European exchange of best practice and pool our experience in order to stimulate this sector, which is essential for the future of our economy.

  Carlos Zorrinho (S&D), por escrito.– A iniciativa do Parlamento Europeu no quadro da aplicação do artigo 128 do regulamento, de questionar em nome das Comissões de Indústria, Investigação e Energia (ITRE) e Mercado Interno e Protecção dos Consumidores (IMCO) a Comissão Europeia sobre a criação de condições efectivas para o desenvolvimento de uma economia de dados próspera, demonstra que o Parlamento assumiu o caracter estratégico da Agenda Digital para o futuro do projecto europeu. Assegurar a transparência e a equidade no acesso aos dados, promover o acesso aberto a dados relevantes em respeito pela protecção legal, fomentar o desenvolvimento de novas áreas de negócio geradoras de riqueza e de emprego, abrindo oportunidades não apenas às grandes empresas mas também às pequenas e médias empresas, aos novos empreendedores e às Start Ups, são prioridades que as questões colocadas pelo PE sublinham e em que a capacidade resposta no terreno por parte da Comissão Europeia será determinante. Da mesma forma são críticas as questões colocadas sobre a estabilidade do quadro jurídico, o apoio ao desenvolvimento das infra estruturas e a aposta na investigação e na formação, num contexto de promoção da inclusão digital.